


Surprise introduction

by lamniform



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Comfort, Just. Mundane stuff., Killing Game Was A Virtual Reality Simulation (Dangan Ronpa), M/M, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:55:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28538430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lamniform/pseuds/lamniform
Summary: Korekiyo had someone he wants to introduce Shuichi to.Ah. This is… me projecting. I started this a few weeks after one of my rabbits had to be put down. I project on Kiyo to cope. I really like Shuichi. That’s it.Kiyo is he/they enby and I switch between those pronouns at timesWe don’t proofread, we publish and then proofread later like men
Relationships: Saihara Shuichi/Shinguji Korekiyo
Kudos: 18





	Surprise introduction

„There’s someone I want you to meet.“

„Huh?“ Shuichi felt a tinge of anxiety run up his neck at those words. The connotations of the last time his partner had said something similar to this had been dangerous, something he’d only found out later over the course of knowing them.  
“Someone in my apartment.” Korekiyo smiled under their mask, it was evident from the look of their eyes, how they were slightly squinted together.

“Oh? And… who would that be?” Shuichi’s face involuntarily contorted. He couldn’t help but think back of their time together in Danganronpa’s simulation, the moment when Korekiyo had told him that they wanted to introduce him to their sister. Later, after everyone had exited the game and the two of them reconciled, they’d confirmed the conclusions Shuichi had come to after finding out their sister was already dead: Meeting their sister would have meant murdering him, an action that had made absolute sense to Korekiyo inside the simulation.

Noticing Shuichi’s anxious demeanor, Korekiyo’s happy expression faded. “Ah. It’s a surprise, dear. It’ll be a nice acquaintance, I swear.” They tried to think of a disarming way to explain what they had in mind without giving any too telling hints, and failed. They were holding hands. Korekiyo squeezed Shuichi’s hand in reassurance.

The two of them walked on for a few more steps before Shuichi knew what to say.

His brows were furrowed while he watched Kiyo intently. “… Okay.”

The taller one’s happy expression returned, even if a bit shallower this time. “Okay.” They echoed.

___

They arrived at Korekiyo’s apartment complex a while later. The place they had managed to pick out for themselves was nothing special. The flat was deliberately small, just fit for a single person. Shuichi had stayed over a few times, and while it was nice, it wasn’t a place for prolonged visits. They had to be okay with spending all the time in it together, as it consisted solely of a living room, tiny kitchen, and a bathroom. Apartments like it were meant for either students or commuters from far away. Korekiyo was a student, but his parents’ home wasn’t too remote from the university he now went to, so the description didn’t quite apply.

Korekiyo’s reason for leaving their parents’ place was a different one. The killing game had dug up topics that had never been discussed. Even if so many of the memories implanted into the participants were lies, some of them were half-truths, and some of them truths. Korekiyo’s relationship with their sister, unfortunately, was a truth. Their parents found out through watching the game, and while they didn’t outright treat them badly after finding out about the details of it, once Korekiyo managed to piece those parts of their real memory together, the atmosphere in their home was… many things, but definitely no place where they could live and remain focused on their studies.

Shuichi had considered the same, moving out of his parents’. After being fabricated as neglectful by the killing game, they had started doing everything in their power to not be neglectful. It was overbearing. Part of it was also because they hadn’t even noticed that Shuichi had applied to Danganronpa. They were aware that he loved the show, but didn’t know the extent of it. Contrary to the what the game had claimed, Danganronpa was a very niche endeavor to the general public. Games were participants kill each other didn’t have mass appeal in the times they were living in, and since it in truth was just a simulation it didn’t cause any moral uproar. Their game was the first to heavily mess with implanted memories, it had been milder during the first two games – Shuichi and Korekiyo had in fact been part of game 3, not 53. Seeing the effects too much memory manipulation had on the participants, the Danganronpa team had sworn to tone it down, if an avenue for another game ever opened.

Kiyo opened the door to their flat and let Shuichi step through. The entrance area was a small corner with a shelf for jackets and shoes. Shuichi undressed quickly to give Korekiyo more space as they followed and did the same. There was a wall obstructing view of the rest of the living area, so Shuichi was still left in the dark. He shot his partner a questioning and anxious look, which they answered with a motion of their hands, fingers moving forward in a way to suggest that Shuichi should walk forward. He obliged and rounded the corner.

No person in sight. He craned his neck to look into the kitchen and the bathroom, which had their doors open – to allow better air circulation in the crammed space as Korekiyo claimed. He looked back at them.

Again a smile was visible from their eyes. “Behind the table.” They laid a hand between Shuichi’s shoulder blades and lead him around the dinner table/study desk that took up a large portion of the room.

“Oh.” Shuichi blinked. In that corner stood a fence, enclosing about two square metres of the floor, which had a cover of… pool liner lying on it? There was a cat toilet, but with wood bedding instead of cat litter, a small wooden house, a wooden tunnel, twigs, a water bowl, lots of hay scattered about…

Korekiyo parted from Shuichi’s side and came back a moment later with a piece of fresh apple. They stepped over the fence and knelt down in front of the wooden house, offering the treat.

“Ohh…” Shuichi repeated when a small brown-furred face peeked out of its door. Big dark eyes surveyed their surroundings. The bunny stretched forward, smelling the apple in its close vicinity, then retreated its head, then stretched out again, a little farther still. Kiyo held their hand a little closer. One strong bite and the apple was removed from their hand to be eaten inside the house with neither of the humans to see, just hear the chewing.

Kiyo looked at Shuichi, smiling. Their partner let out a breath of relief and the tension that he’d only partially been aware of drained out of him. He knelt down beside the enclosure, face level with Kiyo. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He watched the door of the wooden house, brown fur was visible through it.

“Hm?”

“You have a rabbit. Since when?” He put his fingers through the fence’s bars, resting a hand on it.

“Not long.” Kiyo turned their head to watch what was visible of the bunny’s rear through the door as well. “She’s lonely right now. We had to put down her friend a week ago.” They were referring to them and their parents. “We’ve had bunnies since I was little, it turns out. I can’t even remember what the other one used to be like, really, yet. I didn’t spend much time with them after the game.” It had only been roughly a year since the killing game had ended at this point.

“I see.” Shuichi acknowledged. “So now she’s with you, keeping you company?”

Kiyo let out huff close to a snort. “Yes. Or, moreso, I keep her company. Rabbits aren’t meant to be held alone.” The chewing had stopped by now, the rabbit shuffled around inside the house, turning to peek outside again. The fur above its nose moved up and down, it was sniffing the air to smell whether there was more food or not. Korekiyo held out their fingers and they were sniffed intently, but ultimately didn’t yield anything. What a traitor. It retreated back inside.

“Are you planning to get another one?” Shuichi asked.

His partner nodded, then got up and out of the enclosure. Shuichi pulled one of the chairs from the table a little closer to the fence, and sat on that to better observer what was going on inside. Hands resting on his palms with his elbows perched on his lap he waited while Kiyo went off to the kitchen.

“Yes. It’s not easy, sadly. We’re looking for a friend of the same age, and she is already 5 years old.” They came back with two glasses of water, one they held out for Shuichi. Had to keep their boyfriend hydrated. When he took it, they sat down as well and continued. “Most rabbits you find in shelters are barely a year old. Either that, or they are given away in pairs. Some of them have illnesses that make them incompatible with Koi, such as a chronic cold.” Their huffed with a crumbled face. “One woman at the shelter told me holding it isn’t contagious, but that’s a clean lie. Ask any proper vet…” They let go of the thought. “So… it’s tricky. And for a second rabbit I need twice the space of this.” They gestured at the enclosure, then pulled down their mask to drink.

Shuichi frowned and let out an understanding hum. “I hope you find one eventually.”

“It’s inevitable.” Their smile was thin, but it wasn’t sarcasm.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Shuichi noticed that at this point the sound of chewing had picked up again, a little different from before. Hay? There was plenty lying around in the enclosure, so there probably was some in the house.

Kiyo thought for a moment. “Not really, but I appreciate the sentiment. You can come along to the next shelter I go to, if you want. You might be better at knowing when a rabbit has the correct temperament than me.”

It was nice to see Kiyo smiling without the mask on. Shuichi was a bit confused, though. “What do you mean?”

“You have a dog, right? And a cat?”

“Uhm, yes, you’ve met them.”

“Yes. And you send a lot of photos of them.”

“… I do, don’t I?” Shuichi felt habits he wasn’t even aware of be exposed. Were the photos too much? Kiyo never said that they mind, but…

Their smile widened to a grin at his dumbfounded demeanor. “What I mean to say is: I think you’re good with pets.”

He blinked, shoulders loosening. “Oh.” Then returned the smile and scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed. “Thank you, I think… I don’t know how you’re deducing that, but it’s nice you think so.” His hand moved over to his chin when his thoughts wandered on, becoming more thoughtful. “But, I have no experience at all with rodents-“

“Rabbits. Leporidae.” Korekiyo interrupted sharply, a finger raised in warning.

“Uh- with rabbits.” Shuichi corrected, not sure why he was being corrected. “I don’t have any experience with rabbits, so I’m not sure why I’d be good at picking one.”

“That is true. I guess it is just a feeling on my end.” They put their glass away onto the table and pulled up their mask. They rested their cheek in a palm. The look they then gave Shuichi was soft, perhaps a little apologetic. “Maybe I just want you to come along for selfish reasons.”

Shuichi kept finding himself deflating from tension that he hardly noticed had built up whenever he was around Kiyo. It was another such moment, the face across him made him let out a long breath. He inadvertently returned an equally soft expression to them. “Kiyo…”

Their eyes flicked away from his, shy. Getting an emotional response from him hadn’t been the intention, it had been more of a joke, but their expression hadn’t carried it. Whenever their feelings for him flared up, having them noticed by Shuichi was the worst. They had yet to grow accustomed to having feelings for someone, and especially having those be returned.

“I’ll gladly come with you, if that’s what you want.” Shuichi put a hand over his heart, as the other saw out of the corner of their eyes. He was a worried he could have upset them by not agreeing to come immediately, instead refuting the reason why they said they thought it was a good idea.

Korekiyo closed their eyes, they had a hunch about Shuichi’s self-doubt about hurting them from his inflection. Honesty fared best. “I apologize, I intended to make a joke, but when saying those words, I realized there might be a point to them. Whatever the case, it’d be nice if you came along, yes, Shuichi.”

Shuichi snorted, but smiled. The hand over his chest moved back down to his lap. “You really are an oddball, Kiyo.” It was an affectionate comment that had established itself over the course of the passed year. Korekiyo had no problem with being called odd per se, and when it was said by Shuichi they knew it was a positive descriptor, so it had caught on.

With their eyes resting on their partner again, they went back to the actual topic. “I’ll let you know next time I have an appointment to go to a shelter.”

Something in front of them rustled, and the short furred inhabitant of the little house emerged. She started hopping around her place, nudging wafts of hay with her head.

“Ah.” Korekiyo reacted to that by stepping inside the enclosure again, and started picking up the hay to place it into a fodder rack hanging from one side of the fence. Koi didn’t seem to mind their presence. She curiously pocked their leg with her snout.  
“What are you doing that for?”

“She pees. On anything remotely resembling the litterbox contents.”

“Oh.” Shuichi chuckled. “You speak from experience?”

“I do."

___

They stood waiting at the tram station in the late evening. It was already dark out, and barely any people were moving around anymore this place of town. They stood facing each in a hug that wasn’t intended to be broken for a while, Shuichi with half his face buried in Kiyo’s chest, Kiyo with their chin resting on Shuichi’s head.

“Kiyo?”

“Yes, dear?” They hummed. They had their eyes focused on one of the streetlights. A spider had spun its net beneath the light’s hood, sheltered from rain. It was brightly illuminated, most likely an ideal spot to attract insects attracted to light during the night. Kiyo wondered if the constant exposure to light was bad for the spider. It could hide in a dark niche of the device, but did it consider the option.

“It’s been a year since we go out, and it still has me worried.”

“Oh?” There was a lot to be worried about.

They both shifted, loosening their grip on each other and leaning back just enough to look at the other. It was now Shuichi’s chin resting on Kiyo’s chest as he looked up at them. “The part when you… about introducing me to your sister.” His train of thought trailed off while looking for the right words to continue, and he averted his eyes to the side. They’d talked about it before, a number of times. What exactly had him bothered about it still? He… found the right thought. “This’ll sound harsher than I want it to.” A long breath in. “There’s things I still don’t trust you with, instinctively.”

Korekiyo kept watching him without a reply, not immediately sure what to reply. Silence wasn’t a good cop-out, Shuichi grew doubtful about it having been a good idea to be so blunt. Expectant eyes watched them from bellow. Shuichi was about to say something to keep the topic moving forward, but none of the words coming to his mind seemed fit either.

Korekiyo moved a hand up to the shorter one’s head, stroking his hair. They kept doing so for some moments, grateful for it not making Shuichi more anxious, if they were telling the signs right it calmed him down. “Please, go on. What exactly puts you on edge?” Those were the words they felt good picking.

Now evidently Shuichi started being put to ease, both with the response-question and the messing with his hair. “I know you meant well, but you did have me worried with your surprise.”

“I see.” They did see. It lacked mindfulness on their end. They should a surprise introduction would make their boyfriend’s fears flare up.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be. I’m sorry too. It was inconsiderate of me.”

“It would have ruined the surprise.”

“Mhh.” They hummed in agreement. The hand they’d been moving over his head came to a rest on Shuichi’s shoulder, arm loosely wrapped behind his neck. “I’ll throw you a bone next time. A hint. Several, in case the riddle is too hard.”

It sounded like fun. Shuichi gave a tentative smirk. “Like what, in this case?”

“Ah.” Kiyo wanted to spend more time in thinking a puzzle through, but they didn’t want to stall here. “First thought that comes to mind is take you along to pick up groceries today on the way to my apartment and pick up a bag of hay during it, but that might be too easy.”

Shuichi laughed. “Yeah. What about a brush? There’s these tiny brushed for pets, right? Buy one and claim it’s for your own hair.” Kiyo mulled over their hair that was rolling off Shuichi’s shoulders in front of them.

“My hair is indeed fickle. It might profit from such treatment.”

“Right? I’d have to chew on that a bit before figuring it out.”

“Oh no, but what if it is too hard?” Their hand moved to stroke his hair again, this time at a faster, mocking way. “I would have to go buy the hay then, wouldn’t I?”

Again laughter. “Yes, you’d have to go back into the shop.”

“Ah, such a hassle.” Their fingers remained at the back of his neck this time. “But, in all seriousness, I will be more conscious of this. Please bring it up again in case I fail to be.”

“Mhh, okay. I will. I appreciate that, Kiyo.”

Their conversation continued on one or two more mundane topics, talked about their schedule for the coming week, then parted with a kiss from Kiyo on Shuichi’s forehead as the tram arrived.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave suggestions on what to to better? Tell me what you think my strong points are? I'd like to improve as a writer


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